Japan and the United States agreed Saturday to set up a multilateral "clean technology fund" to spark the development of technology aimed at combating global warming, a Japanese official said.
Stephen Johnson, administrator of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, was quoted as telling Environment Minister Ichiro Kamoshita in a meeting in Kobe that Washington wants Japan to consider establishing a global fund because the research involves considerable money.
Kamoshita agreed.
"Let's call for the participation of each Group of Eight country and make it a big fund," he was quoted as saying.
Kamoshita said Japan, which holds this year's G8 presidency, will promote discussions on the proposal during the G8 summit in July in Hokkaido, where policy coordination to address climate change will top the agenda.
Separately, Kamoshita and British Secretary for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs Hilary Benn agreed to cooperate on a global guideline for the "carbon offset" system, in which companies and others provide funds for emission-reduction programs, such as afforestation and carbon credit purchases, based on the amounts they discharge.